By Rachel Drinkard
Turnagain Times Correspondent
UAA student Stormy Haught, 27, of Girdwood is one of four students to be awarded this year’s prestigious Senator Ted Stevens Scholarship by the Kenai River Sports Fishing Association.
The scholarship, established in 2003 to honor Steven’s conservation legacy and interest in sport fishing, totals more than $5,400 for full tuition for undergraduate and graduate students in Alaska. Emphasis is placed on rewarding students who have a passion for preserving Alaska’s sport fishing industry.
Haught, a graduate student at UAA and Intro to Biology Teacher’s Assistant, is pursuing a master’s degree in biology and is currently studying the ecological impacts of the Northern pike invasion on the Kenai Peninsula and Mat-Su Valley
“He really has a passion for preserving and enhancing Alaska’s natural resources,” said Jordan Hanson of Black Sheep Public Relations. “With the slow fishing season this year, it’s nice to know that we have some passionate Alaskan students planning to manage our fisheries and work towards keeping Alaska ‘s unique sportfishing environment strong.”
In the midst of what some biologists are calling a potentially disastrous year for Alaska’s salmon species—a primary species affected by the invasive Northern pike—Haught’s studies and future research could be just what the doctor ordered.
According to the Northern pike management plan from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Northern pike are known to consume large portions of stocked and migrating juvenile salmonids. The pike’s metabolism increases causing their nutrition needs to spike in late spring during the emergence of salmon fry. One study showed that pike account for approximately 35 percent of stocked Atlantic salmon smolt mortality in the Keret River in Russia, and another documented a 50 percent loss of migrating Baltic salmon from pike predation.
In Southcentral Alaska, juvenile salmon and trout, particularly Coho salmon, Sockeye salmon and rainbow trout, is preferred prey for pike. As keystone species suffering from a variety of threats, salmon represent a considerable economic factor in the state. These invasive predators could even further threaten the state’s fishery by wreaking havoc on native ecology. Haught’s research plans to examine the stomach contents of Northern pike in varying ecosystems to help analyze exactly how imminent this threat is.
The Senator Ted Stevens Scholarship program was created to encourage students to study, research and work toward enhancing Alaska’s natural resources for future generations. The program has provided up to $23,000 annually to students for the past five years.